The Daily Voice • April 5, 2012 • Volume 44 • Issue 23

what’s with that shed on the seawall?...................3

t our las This is ce i The Vo f o e u s il is per unt newspa ee you r. S Octobe n! the

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the Y L oice I A D

produced by langara journalism students

B.C. docs unravel deadliest cancer

april 5, 2012 • Vol. 44 no. 23 • vancouver, b.c.

BC Cancer Agency maps complete genetics of triple negative breast cancer to spur better understanding

By STACY THOMAS

S

cientists at the BC Cancer Agency have decoded the genetic make-up of the deadliest type of breast cancer, opening the door to more effective treatment.

Triple negative breast cancer has until now been treated as a single disease and has been notorious for resisting treatment and relapsing.

“This is a great day,” said Doug Nelson, BC Cancer Foundation president and CEO, at a press conference Wednesday.

“Advancements like this one have the potential to affect widespread change and to inspire widespread hope,” he said.

The study was published Wednesday in the online international science journal Nature and reveals — contrary to traditional thought — that the cancer is an extremely complex tumour that undergoes an unprecedented range of mutations.

Triple negative breast cancer currently accounts for 16 per cent of all breast cancer diagnoses and 25 per cent of breast cancer deaths.

Scientists now know that they are dealing with a vastly more complicated disease, comparing the cancer to a “mini ecosystem” with Darwinian-type evolvement that defends itself against treatment.

As drugs and chemotherapy are applied, weaker cells die while stronger

See CANCER DISCOVERY, page 3

SASCHA PORTEOUS photo

A group of about 40 protesters gathered near Georgia Street and Hamilton Street Wednesday to oppose a new federal immigration bill.

Refugees protest tougher law Proposed law could increase refugee detention times, says lawyer

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Foreign nationals could be detained for up to a year without any review PETER EDELMANN, lawyer

By ROSS ARMOUR & SASCHA PORTEOUS

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controversial federal bill has refugees and immigrants worried they will be subject to arbitrary profiling, detentions and deportations.

Protesters gathered yesterday downtown at Georgia Street and Hamilton Street to rally in opposition.

“Foreign nationals could be detained for up to a year without any review,” said lawyer Peter Edelmann, who represents those opposing the bill.

“You wouldn’t be reunited with your family members and you wouldn’t be

able to apply for permanent residence.”

Bill C-31 would give Immigration Canada the power to enforce jail time for asylum seekers, deny permanent residency and expel refugees from Canada, according to migrant and refugee rights activists.

“Canadians take great pride in the generosity and compassion of our immigration and refugee programs. But [Canada] has no tolerance for those who abuse our generosity and seek to take unfair advantage of our country,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in a press release.

Edelmann — who was at the protest

— said the bill would have devastating effects on refugees and foreign nationals already present in Canada.

“There’s no reason for this bill to be slammed through parliament as quickly as the government is intending.

They want to pass this through parliament before June 29th,” Edelmann said.

As refugees arrive in Canada, Bill C-31 implements a required hearing within 30 to 45 days.

“That’s simply not enough time for somebody who is traumatized or some-

See IMMIGRATION LAW, page 3

Holy million-mosquito mayhem, Batman!

Park Board tackles pesky golf course mosquitoes by housing bats on the greens

By CARLY RHIANNA SMITH

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ancouver golf courses are using an unconventional form of pest control this spring to keep the bugs away — bats.

The natural predators can consume as much as 3,000 insects a night, which prompted the Vancouver Board of Printed on recycled paper

Parks and Recreation to install “roosts” at several golf courses throughout the city.

“Bats, you wouldn’t really see in your backyard. We’re giving them an ideal place to live,” said Howard Normann, Vancouver Park Board supervisor of golf operations.

Golf courses are a suitable home for bats, said Normann, with access to semi-open areas near trees and water as well as plenty of insects. Normann presented the idea last year after researching ways to get rid of mosquitos without using toxic chemical sprays.

“If it’s successful, we might be able to put more roosts around [Vancouver],” he said. “People think they’re like vampires, but they’re not.”

A total of six bat roosts will be installed this year at Fraserview, Langara and McCleery golf courses, housing a total of 300 to 400 bats.

“You’ve got a bat symbol sort of a thing on the front of it, so it looks kind of like you’ve got Batman in there,” said Dan Okholm, Langara golf course maintenance member.

Bats hibernate below 10 degrees Celsius and will be moved in soon.

CARLY RHIANNA SMITH photo

A bat roost has been installed at Langara golf course.

Check out our web exclusives at http://langaravoice.com/

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news & features

Editor emma crawford

The daily Voice, Thursday, April 5, 2012

Putting families first is best The Surrey Board of Trade says child care essential to the economy

By ASHLEY VIENS

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anada ranks among the worst countries in the world for child care policy, based on UNICEF’s international standards, and the Surrey Board of Trade is hoping to change that.

By working locally and nationally with other chambers of commerce across Canada, the board aims to discuss how specific government funding can help businesses help families.

“We really wanted to take a leadership role,” said Anita Huberman, CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade, about its Business and Families Position paper, released Tuesday, calling for a New Deal for Families.

Huberman is focusing on helping businesses provide healthy work-life balance for families raising children in an economy that doesn’t allow for single-income scenarios.

“There are nine licensed child care facilities in Surrey for every 100 kids, in comparison with 18 facilities per 100 kids in Vancouver,” said Huberman.

“This is just one indication of the changes that the government needs to provide for Surrey’s burgeoning population.”

Projections for Surrey’s population were predicted to surpass Vancouver’s in eight years, with 900 new families settling in Surrey every month.

UBC professor Paul Kershaw says the businesses are paying a price for the status quo.

“The Surrey Board of Trade is unique in that it is the first that has been very concrete in the policy changes that need to happen,” said Kershaw.

“As a business leader, they are saying that this is an economic issue in addition to being a social issue.”

Kershaw also stated that families in Canada are paying as much as a second mortgage to stay at home for a year with their newborns, whereas countries such as Denmark and Sweden have much more affordable programs for parents.

“It takes two earners now where it once took one breadwinner to pay for costs of living.”

“The policy recommendations in a New Deal [include] giving parents more time at home with their kids and figuring out what the role is in business of supporting that,” added Kershaw.

Ruth Bancroft, head teacher of the Langara Child Development Centre, said in an email that Surrey’s New Deal “would mean that families in every

MP has introduced a new bill to change liquor laws to allow transportation of alcohol between provinces

By Dennis Page

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ASHLEY VIENS photo

Claire Anderson, pictured with her daughter, Lily, has used Langara’s daycare for five years community would be able to send their children to high quality and affordable child care programs.”

“Parents are very concerned about how difficult it is to actually find child care spaces for their children,” Bancroft said. “It is also a shock for parents to find out how expensive child care is, the second highest family expense next to housing.”

CHILD CARE FACILITIES Surrey vs. Vancouver Surrey:

Vancouver:

Has only nine licensed child care facilities for every 100 children in the city

Has 18 licensed child care facilities for every 100 children in the city Source: Anita Huberman, Surrey Board of Trade

The naked truth: strip searches unfair “

Strip searches must be considered on a caseby-case basis BRYANT MACKEY

Two protesters arrested at U.S. Consulate now seeking a class action lawsuit based on their experiences

By AUDREY McKINNON

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Small vineyards may soon rejoice

class-action lawsuit is being requested based on two protesters who were arrested in 2003 and are claiming to have been wrongfully stripsearched after being held at a Vancouver jail.

Lawyer Jason Gratl is representing Christopher Jacob and Elise Thorburn, who were arrested for “mischief” in 2003 for protesting the Iraq war outside the U.S. Consulate. The two protesters were searched at the Vancouver jail without giving consent and are now part of a near 75,000-person class-action suit.

But Bryant Mackey, representing the province of British Columbia, said in B.C. Supreme Court this morning that the two protesters are not a fair

representation for the lawsuit.

“Strip searches must be considered on a case-by-case basis,” he said adding that the experiences of two people does not account for a class-action suit of this size.

He also says that because the Vancouver jail is a shared facility, meaning that the jail is both a police lock-up and a criminal rehab centre, strip-searches are necessary to make the prison safer for the different classes of criminals.

“The unique nature of the facility only serves to create additional factors that must be assessed,” said Mackey.

Mackey said strip-searches were recommended by Judge Bruce in 2004.

He quoted from the ruling: “If the prisoner is not to be released by the police arresting the prisoner, they will be escorted to the pre-hold search area where the strip-search will be completed.”

But according to CBC News, in January 2004, Provincial Court judge Catherine Bruce ruled that more video cameras, metal detectors, improved pat

down searches and separate holding cells for new prisoners, were better ways to establish security than stripsearches.

Gratl suggested excluding those arrested for weapon or drug charges to reduce the number included in the class-action lawsuit.

“It will be as simple for the defendants to show that no breach occurred as to point to the . . . sheet and say arrested for weapons, arrested for possession of cocaine or arrested for possession of marijuana or what have you,” he said.

Gratl said the general prison population and short-term prisoners should be eliminated from the list as well.

He said it would be mechanical checklist to see what people were arrested for, suggesting a series of largely document-based “mini-trials” to determine the filtered list.

“It’s just not clear how many of these approximately 75,000 individuals will be left after all of these filters have been [applied],” he said.

anadian wine connoisseurs may be able to forgo their bootlegging ways and enjoy a wider selection of some of the countries best varietals with greater ease if a new private members bill passes through Parliament.

As the Importation of Intoxicating Liquors Act is now, it is illegal for an individual or company to transport alcoholic beverages across provincial borders.

Conservative MP for Okanagan-Coquihalla, Dan Albas has introduced bill C-311, which is a motion to change the law to allow for personal exemptions from the Act. Albas is hoping the proposed change will help boost the wine making industry which in B.C. has grown from about 15 wineries, 20 years ago, to almost 200 today, with 10,000 acres of grapes grown, bringing in $40 million annually.

“Currently, the IILA dictates that all imports of wine from one province into another must be made solely by the provincial liquor board or a private corporation designated by that province,” said Albas while addressing Parliament.

The practical implication of the law as is now, is that if a winery is large enough and joins a provincial liquor board, it can distribute its wine nation wide, but for smaller wineries hoping to reach the same markets, distribution is illegal.

“We have just got ourselves into the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario), an extremely expensive, very difficult process,” said Leslie D’Andrea, owner of Noble Ridge Vineyard and Winery.

“It’s a good thing,” said D’Andrea of the proposed bill, “We know of people in Ontario that are trying desperately to get our wine. I would love to be able to ship our wine directly to them.”

Opening up the marketplace for B.C. wine producers also means more competition from other wine producing regions of the country.

“I think we would stand side by side with the Ontario wines no problem, they make good wine too, but that is of far lesser concern than the concern I have that I can not access markets in Ontario that I know would buy our wine,” said D’Andrea.

D’Andrea notes that some restrictions on importing of wine, specifically from other countries, are a good thing for Canada and the national wine industry.

“Bottom line, it’s a great thing,” said D’Andrea of the proposed change “but I would add a strong cautionary note that that’s the only thing they do and be very mindful of the others things they could impact.”

Photo: Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery

Noble Ridge Vineyard & Winery owners Leslie and Jim D’Andrea

Campus news

Editor shawn Gill

The daily Voice, Thursday, April 5, 2012

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Expert teaches non-violence Last in a series of ‘sustainable change’ lectures promotes positivity

By BRANDON REID

R Photo courtesy of WENDY TANNER on Flickr Creative Commons

On Vancouver’s seawall, Magor’s LightShed contrasts the city’s rugged past with its modern future.

Magor local artist coming to Langara

aj Gill, from the Centre for NonViolent Communication, presented a lecture on how empathy and compassion are the keys to sustainable change yesterday at Langara.

“The overall theme of the series is on change,” said Leslie Kemp, program coordinator. The lecture was the last of a lecture series devoted to the topic of sustainable change.

“Empathy is relating to another person’s experience so you get to see what is going on in their world,” said Gill.

“Compassion is the ability to see pain and suffering and to have the strength and courage to do something about that.”

years ago during the civil rights movement.

Rosenberg’s latest book, Living Nonviolent Communication, will be published on June 1st.

“He’s been able to make a difference in difficult circumstances,” said Gill.

“This approach works because it’s a very human way of looking at the world.”

Similar to her idol Martin Luther King, Jr., Gill says we shouldn’t view each other by skin colour or place of birth.

“Everybody has emotions, everybody has needs,” said Gill. “When I’m valued and you’re valued we’ll put our best forward.”

The organization organizes training programs in over 65 countries.

“I think we’ve become too individuated and competitive to the point that it’s not supportive,” said Gill.

She said that the resulting benefits of non-violent communication include better conflict resolution, increased cooperation and more confidence in conversations.

“We’re all evolving. The only thing constant is change,” she said. “If we start treating each other with care, we can create viable sustainable solutions.”

Gill has been lecturing at Langara since 2002. She also visits universities, prisons and childcare centres andworks in coordination with the non-violence society.

The organization’s founder, Marshall Rosenberg, started the society 50

RAJ GILL

Soggy students catch welcome waves of spring sunshine Cancer discovery Continued from page 1

The study was lead by Sam Aparicio, Professor of Pathology and Lab Medicine at UBC and BC Cancer Agency Chair of Breast Cancer Research.

“It’s exactly like an ecosystem, that’s why the comparison with Darwinism, it’s natural selection. Some species may find it easier to survive in one ecosystem than another, and the same thing is true inside cancers — that there are some cells that find it easier to survive than others when you put a drug on them,” Aparicio said.

“If you kill off the ones that don’t do so well but [some] survive, they’re going to grow back,” he said.

The study is an important step forward in treatment. “We’ve been stumbling around in a darkened room, and someone just turned the light on,” said Aparicio.

World renowned visual artist and Emily Carr professor to speak at campus this evening

By HAYLEY DOCTOR

A

n award-winning local artist is coming to Langara to speak about her career as an artist and her experiences.

Liz Magor will be speaking as a part of this year’s artist speaking series.

Magor, who was unavailable for an interview, works with photography and sculpture, and examines identity, existence and time in her pieces. She often repurposes everyday objects in her work including plates and ashtrays.

Magor currently teaches visual arts as an associate professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She has also taught at Ontario College of Art and Design, University of Victoria, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and UBC. “There is a value in public art,” said Katie Eliot, division assistant for the Langara Centre for Art in Public Spaces, which is hosting Magor’s lecture.

“We encourage [all students and faculty] to come and listen,” said Eliot.

Liz Magor “Art speaks culEmily Carr arts turally.” instructor Vancouverites may recognize one of Magor’s permanent art exhibits, which is installed on the downtown seawall. Steps away from the Coal Harbour Community Centre stands Magor’s LightShed, encased. The dilapidated wooden-style shed on four log pillars is cast in aluminum. It has stood at Harbour Green Park since 2004.

Magor was a recipient of a Governor General’s Award in visual and media arts in 2001 and received the Audain Prize, B.C.’s most prestigious visual arts prize, in 2009.

Her work has been exhibited in Germany, Australia, Italy and Canada, including at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Blanket Statements, Magor’s most recent work, was shown in Toronto last spring. It is a series of wool blankets designed to represent various things such as the Canadian identity.

The Centre for Art in Public Spaces brings production, presentation and research behind art to the public.

Tonight’s talk will talk place in room 122a of A-building tonight from 7 to 9 p.m.

“

I think we’ve become too individuated and competitive to the point that it’s not supportive

Immigration law Continued from page 1

DANIEL PALMER photo

“It’s getting better all the time” — The Beatles. Arts and science transfer student Thomas Hooley partakes in yesterday afternoon’s better weather. Expect more sun today and even more Saturday.

-one who needs to gather documents from a foreign country, have them translated and try and present them to the board,” said Edelmann.

Molina said becoming a refugee is not a decision anyone wishes to undertake.

“No one chooses to be a refugee, but if your life is at stake you’re going to flee no matter what.”

Former chairman of the Immigration and Refugee Board Peter Showler said in an interview with rabble.ca that Bill C-31 is “a bill that violates the Canadian Charter of Rights, international law and, frankly, common sense as well.”

Showler said that none of these features are contained in Bill C-31.

Library massage parlour during exams Exam stress will roll off your back as spa students earn valuable experience relieving what ails you

By LEV JACKSON

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ibrarian Anne Jensen has organized four days in the coming weeks where the library will provide free messages and forms of integrative energy healing.

Continuing studies spa program students will be donating their time to this cause.

“Students work really hard, there is a lot of pressure on them from every angle,” said Jenson. “We help students with assignments, we help them do

well academically, but a big part of that is also helping them feel good.

“So we are treating students holistically, helping support them from every angle, and helping give them a break,” she continued.

Screens will be put up for the privacy of the students.

Both the massage and integrative energy healing are free to students as long as they come armed with their student cards in hand.

Abdul Fadel, a first year human kinetics student is all for the idea.

“I think it is definitely a good idea brought up by the library. I think with students going into exam mode and studying hard, they are going to need it,” said Fadel.

“A lot of us will be stressed and have tensed up necks and backs, so it is a

good idea, I am definitely interested in it.”

Integrative energy healing is designed to put the body, mind and spirit into a healing process.

Students can expect yoga, stretching, and perhaps some energy treatment on those days.

Jensen said that the massages will be beneficial to students studying for finals.

“It will be nice for students in the library to take a break, come down and get their neck rubbed a bit.

They can get their mind off studying for a bit, so when they come back they are refreshed. It also gives them something to look forward to while studying,” she said.

Massages will be held on a first come first serve basis.

Massage schedule Hours 12-5:00 p.m.

Schedule April 11 and 17 - Integrative energy healing April 12 and 19 - Spa therapy and holistic massage

Source: Langara events calendar

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THE DAILY VOICE, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012

EDITOR MORNA CASSIDY

entertainment

Cherry blossom abundances The 7th annual festival showcasing spring-inbloom kicks off this weekend throughout the city

By JACQUIE RICHARDSON

C

TOM BOPPART photo

A black bear finds a tasty treat while roaming about a Vancouver neighbourhood.

Cities: wildlife haven

elebrate the beauty of spring with Vancouver’s Cherry Blossom Festival beginning April 5. There are over 40,000 cherry blossom trees to see this Easter weekend at venues around the city.

“I really do believe these festivals bring communities and cultures together,” says Shiamak Davar, choreographer of the Cherry Blossom Umbrella Dance.

The festival helps Vanouverites snap out of the winter dulldrums with over 15 events beginning today and continuing until April 28th.

Today’s feature event embraces Vancouver’s rainy city reputation with the Cherry Blossom Umbrella Dance.

Inspired by a popular Bollywood film, the dance embodies the feeling of falling in love.

If after watching the umbrella dance you want to try some dancing for yourself, join the flash mob downtown Vancouver on April 14. The dance is choreographed with bright pink umbrellas with moves that are simple and fun.

Those who want to take part will need

to register in advance, and can sign up on the festival website.

The Cherry Jam, a free lunchtime concert running from 11a.m. to 2p.m. outside Burrard Skytrain station will also go underway today.

On April 7 and 8 there is Sakura Days Japan Fair from 10a.m. to 5p.m. at VanDusen Botanical Garden, where traditional Japanese ceremonies and cultural performances will take place .

Tea and sake will be served.

En Plein Air painting classes will also be featured in the gardens throughout April.

En Plein Air is french for “in open air” or painting outdoors, a style of painting particularly popular in the late 1800s but no less appealing today Classes run from 11a.m. to 2p.m.

For optimum cherry blossom viewing the festival provides a map which outlines the best vantage points throughout Vancouver. The map pinpoints locations around the city from which you can view or photograph the pretty petals.

Whether this time of year is a time of religious reflection for you, or simply a time to celebrate the spring, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival is a great way be a part of all the beauty of the season.

As the american songwriter Katherine Lee Bates says of the spring, “it is the hour to rend thy chains; the blossom time of souls.”

Langara instructor publishes 5th book, about animals adapting to urban environments

By HAYLEY DOCTOR

N

icholas Read, a journalism instructor at Langara College, has recently published his latest children’s book about animals in urban areas.

With a self-proclaimed visceral love of animals, Read has written five children’s books about nature and wildlife, including two about the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia.

With his latest publicaiton, Read is filling a need for literature about urban wildlife.

“I wrote a column on urban wildlife in [a newspaper] . . . and I discovered there was no book in North America about it,” said Read.

City Critters looks at animals that live in the city and have had to adapt to urbanization. From deer to mice and even alligators, Read describes how the animals live and interact with humans.

The 134-page book highlights urban animals divided into categories, includ-

ing mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.

Read’s new book features vivid and detailed photography from a variety of sources, including three photos from Langara College geography instructor Colin Mills.

The British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals supplied some of the photos published, after holding a photography contest seeking shots of animals living in the city.

City Critters also looks at how humans can help animals that share the streets with us.

Every penny of profit from the book’s sales goes to animal charities.

Read doesn’t necessarily write his books solely for a child audience. In City Critters the book is aimed at a middle-school-aged readership, but the information is detailed enough that even adults can find the book useful, said Read.

“What I want to do is write books about animals,” said Read.

“

What I want to do is write books about animals NICHOLAS READ Journalism instructor

JACQUIE RICHARDSON photo

Cherry blossom trees along Ash St. across from Tisdall park near Langara

A cult classic makes a comeback for silver screen 21 Jump Street, the 80s tv show –which catapulted Johnny Depp’s career– is reimagined in movie form

BY CLAYTON PATERSON

I Top: Jonah Hill, and Channing Tatum in Columbia Picture’s 21 Jump Street.

Left: Tatum and Hill in 21 Jump Street.

SCOTT GARFIELD photo

n the action-comedy movie 21 Jump Street, a feature length adaptation of the original TV show, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star as a pair of undercover cops charged with investigating a drug ring at a local high school.

Spanning over five seasons between 1987-1991, the original 21 Jump Street series is not only credited with jumpstarting the career of a young Johnny Depp, but also with establishing Vancouver as a hotspot for the film industry.

“My knowledge of Vancouver [at the time] was limited to what I knew about Bob and Doug McKenzie,” said Peter DeLuise, who played Officer Doug Penhall in the original series, in an inter-

view with the Vancouver Sun. Depp, Deluise and Richard Greico have all been offered cameo appearances in the movie, reprising their original characters from the show.

“I was sort of invited into [the cameo] indirectly,” said Depp in an interview with MTV. “Somebody mentioned it in an interview and I hadn’t heard anything about it [until later].”

Michael Bacall, who co-wrote the story with Hill, said that Sony approached Hill about making the movie with a comedic twist.

Bacall also said that he and Hill had wanted to co-write a “buddy cop” movie for years, so when the chance came about to work on a 21 Jump Street reboot they jumped at the chanc. Theymade their intentions for the film clear right away.

“We didn’t want to make an exercise in nostalgia,” said Bacall in an interview with Complex magazine. “We didn’t want to be making fun of [the original].”

“We wanted this story to be one that can stand on its own,” said Hill.

Hill and Bacall wanted to adapt the concept of the original TV show into a comedy, but also wanted to create strong characters that the audience could connect with.

“It’s all well and good to have great action scenes and a bunch of funny dick jokes, but if at the end [the fans] don’t care about the characters, it’s a lost cause,” said Bacall.

Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were also concerned with the idea of remaking a classic TV series into a movie.

“We didn’t want it to be like a spoof and we didn’t want to just be serious,” said Miller. “We weren’t going to compete that way.”

The film has met mostly positive reviews from critics, currently holding an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and is being called a “smart and affectionate satire of ‘80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes.”

21 Jump Street is in theatres now.

lifestyles

Editor Martin Wissmath

The DAILY Voice, thursDAY, april 5, 2012

5

Easter rises again over Vancouver Many Christian churches in the city will celebrate Good Friday and Easter

By AGUSTINA COCCARO

H

aving a long weekend to study for finals may be exactly what most students need, but for many Christians in Vancouver and around the world, Easter weekend is a time to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday worship services begin at 10:30 a.m. in churches across the Lower Mainland with many holding services throughout the day. Some of the biggest sermons are expected in downtown Vancouver at the Coastal Church on Burrard Street, and the Holy Rosary Cathedral on Dunsmuir Street.

Celebratory services this weekend will include family-friendly events, music and traditional Easter sermons all celebrating this crucial cornerstone of the Christian faith.

The Langara Christians Club will not hold any Easter events on campus because it is the last week of school and students are preparing for finals. They recommend joining the festivities downtown or at your local church.

“Typical activities for most Christians to celebrate Easter include personal devotion, prayer, attending Easter fellowship events and attending the Easter weekend services, usually on Fridays and Sundays,” said Justin Lai, director of communications for the Langara Christians Club. “Most churches have a candlelight vigil and service at night usually on the Friday or Saturday to commemorate the day of Jesus’ death.”

On Sunday, there will be a grand service at The Orpheum Theater, which starts at 10:30 a.m. and will include special music, dramatic presentations and sermons, which will also be happening at most churches.

Many non-religious events will also be happening this weekend. Easter egg hunts and family celebrations will be happening all weekend at community centres and parks. Restaurants will also have special Easter brunches and dinners throughout the weekend.

JEREMY SALLY photo

Jay Gutovich (right), with his parents Gail and Harold. Their family will be hosting a seder of over 30 people during Passover.

A meal to celebrate freedom

Jewish families in Vancouver prepare for the Passover this weekend

By JEREMY SALLY

L

ights will be out at many Vancouver households this weekend as those of the Jewish faith celebrate Passover. The holiday runs from April 6–14.

“It is a day of freedom,” said Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu. He said the day does not just celebrate the emancipation of the Jews in Egypt over 3,000 years ago, but also helps continue to strengthen the faith.

Passover signifies the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. After the prophet Moses unleashed ten plagues upon the pharaoh, the Jews were set free.

“It’s the time that we historically became a people,” said Jay Gutovich, whose family will be hosting a traditional seder feast on Saturday. “Passover is an opportunity for the community to come together and bond.”

Interspersed throughout the seder are prayers and songs, as well as the

recitation of the Haggadah, which is a retelling of the exodus.

“The seder is going through specific steps that are recollections of the Jewish experience, like eating matzo, this cardboard-like substance.”

“It’s unleavened bread,” chimed in Harold, Jay’s father. “When the people were escaping in the desert, they didn’t have time to let the bread rise.”

Yeshayahu says the Haggadah is the most important component of Passover.

“You tell your child about the exodus. You have a dialogue, a discussion,” said the Rabbi. “We [adults] have obligations to tell our children about our heritage. You must relate the faith in a way that kids can relate.”

The holiday’s name is derived from the final plague, when the angel of death visited homes in Egypt and killed every family’s first-born, except for those who had painted their doorway with lamb’s blood.

During the seder, the youngest child

asks four questions about Passover, one of which is ‘Why is this night different?’

Jay said the engagement between generations is what keeps the Jewish faith strong, a point echoed by Yeshayahu.

“Passover is the birth of the Jewish nation. So we must engage children, the future of the nation.” Yeshayahu added that the Jewish faith is rooted in the need to question.

“No question is too condescending.

Freedom is a tenet of the faith and questioning demonstrates freedom of thought.”

For the first and last two days, utmost observance is required. People are not allowed to work, drive or write.

Even the use of electrical devices is prohibited, which is why lights are off in the evening.

For Gutovich’s family, Passover has gained a new significance. Since enrolling at rabbinical college in New Jersey, Gutovich is only home for holidays.

PASSOVER seder plate MAROR AND CHAZERET bitter herbs

CHAROSET a sweet, brown mixture

KARPAS a vegetable dipped into salt water

ZeROA only element of meat — lamb, goat or chicken

BEITZAH a hard boiled egg Source: wikipedia.org

Easter customs came from pagans Wiccans and other pagans in the Lower Mainland say the holiday has pagan roots from ancient times

By MICHELLE GAMAGE

T Easter — or Ostara — eggs decorated with various pagan images. Eggs are used a symbol of fertility.

o celebrate the return of green shoots, pink blossoms and sunshine, consider the celebration of the season with local pagans.

The pagan Easter, generally known as Ostara or Eostre, is celebrated around March 19–23 in the northern hemisphere and September 19–23 in the southern hemisphere to match the onset of spring. “[It] celebrates the coming of spring and the resurrection of the earth’s green mantle with the appearance of flowers, shoots, buds, leaves and other new growth,” said Sarah Lawless, a Pa-

cific northwest spaewife and Wiccan blogger.

A spaewife is a woman believed by pagans to possess an ability to foretell the future.

The Easter celebration is thought to be named after the ancient goddess Eostre, the Germanic goddess of spring who was celebrated all throughout April for waking the world from its winter slumber. In 1835 author Jacob Grimm wrote that the fertility symbols of eggs and rabbits and the tradition of feasting were originally pagan, later adopted by the church because of their popularity.

How Ostara is celebrated depends on an individual’s pagan denomination.

“As Christianity can be broken down into sects such as Anglican, Catholic, Methodist and Baptist, pagans are further divided into groups such as Wicca, Asatru, Druidry and Thelema,” said Lawless.

Wiccans usually celebrate by circle casting, which creates a sacred space for worship to call upon the gods of spring. During worship there may be singing, dancing, a play and games before a potluck feast.

“Within Asatru, a form of modern heathenism, Eostre is usually celebrated with a blot: Sacred feast of food or drink shared with one’s gods, spirits and ancestors,” Lawless said.

It is also celebrated with a symbol, “which is a rite where a horn of mead or ale is passed around to those who make toasts, oaths, boasts, tell stories or sing songs.”

Ostara can also be celebrated on an individual level or within a family with activities that may include special dinners, walks in the woods, egg hunts or even spring cleaning.

Lawless celebrates by going to the rituals of local Wicca groups with her friends.

6

Editor Alanna hardinge-rooney

The DAILY Voice, thursday april 5, 2012

viewpoints

Bus assault verdict sets dangerous precedent C

harles Dixon, the veteran bus driver who was punched in the back of the head by an angry passenger in February 2011, was dealt another blow on Tuesday -this one arguably more painful than the first.

Seated with his colleagues in a provincial courtroom in Vancouver, Dixon listened as Judge Karen Walker told the court that Del Louie, the 22-year-old who assaulted him, would not be going to jail.

The message she sent could not be clearer: it’s OK to ignore, insult and even physically assault the people who Alanna thanklessly drive hardinge-rooney us to school, take us to our appointments, and get us home safe from the bar.

“There is no bus driver or transit operator in this city who is safe,” said Dixon outside the courthouse.

“I’m in a state of shock that he’s not going to jail.”

Instead, Louie will be serving an 18-month conditional sentence in a rehab home, performing 200 hours of community service, followed by two years’ probation.

The justification? Louie has aboriginal ancestry, is afflicted by fetal alcohol syndrome and was exposed to violence and substance abuse as a child. Judge Walker determined that “These were not of his making.”

She has a point.

These are all important considerations, and I’m glad we have a criminal justice system that is sensitive to the traumatic history of Canada’s aboriginal peoples, however, a soft sentence on a matter as grave as this one sets a dangerous precedent.

According to the bus drivers’ union, there have been more than 1,000 attacks in the last 10 years, including more than 145 in the 14 months since Dixon was assaulted.

Louie himself has already re-offended, spitting on a paramedic during a skirmish with police. And Dixon was not the first bus driver he assaulted.

It’s clear that our treatment of these crimes is not working.We need to send a strong message before it’s too late.

OPINION

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Journalism instructor Nicholas Read oversees The Voice. Email him at nread@langara.bc.ca

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Plug into electric cars and help save the planet N

ews this week that the provincial government will introduce 570 new charging stations for electric cars on B.C’s highways may come as a surprise to some.

But with the constant necessary modern day obsession with becoming a green and eco-friendly world, it can only be a good thing.

On Tuesday, Environment Minister Terry Ross armour Lake announced $2.74 million for the new stations that would make it easier to travel to places such as Prince George and south to the United States.

The move is part of the B.C. Liberals’ Clean Energy Vehicle Program and the idea of promoting and enhancing electric car use is an ideal fit.

OPINION

Electric vehicles emit zero tailpipe pollutants and the electricity involved, be it from nuclear, hydro, solar or wind-powered plants, causes no air pollution whatsoever.

Surely this can only be a positive thing with the constant threat of global warming?

Electric motors also bring performance benefits.

They provide quiet, smooth operation and stronger acceleration and require less maintenance than internal combustion engines.

So the friendly tag is more than just environmental.

Furthermore, electric cars convert 75 per cent of the chemical energy from the batteries to power the wheels.

ICEs only convert 20 per cent of the energy stored in gasoline.

The province has already begun working with B.C Hydro and stations are guaranteed to be installed on major routes such as the Coquihalla, Highway 97 and the

Cariboo connector.

The provincial government will also consult with various regional districts, municipalities and First Nations groups to decide on other spots.

However, trips from Vancouver to the Okanagan for example will require more than just one stop to recharge.

Most electric cars can only travel somewhere between 150 to 300 kilometers before recharging.

Gasoline vehicles can go for at least 400 before refilling.

Battery packs are also expensive but with the soaring price of gas in the Lower Mainland, it might be worth the investment.

Tom Hanks once said he was “saving America” by driving an electric car in a North American documentary dubbed “Who Killed the Electric Car?” B.C’s attempts to reignite the phenomenon may go a long way to saving the planet.

Leave fare evaders alone, they have enough to worry about

W

e live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. The average person under forty has basically no chance of ever buying a house here, ever.

ICBC and Translink, between the two of them, are worth billions of dollars.

Do they really need that four per cent worth of fares that they’re wringing their hands over?

The stink that’s being made about fare evasion is a slap in the face of the public; yet another example of the rich stealing from the poor.

Who evades fares? Folks who can’t afford, for whatever reason,

the $2.50 it costs to ride around in Vancouver traffic for ninety minutes. It’s laughable to give someone who can’t afford $2.50, a $173 fine, and then act shocked and offended when it doesn’t get paid.

They call it the “honour system,” Stacy thomas and I think most people really are honest and law abiding, but if we’re expected to live and compete in this economy, which

OPINION

is run by corporations like ICBC, we should have the right to keep whatever $2.50 we can, whenever we need to.

ICBC is not going to go out of business. The whining and nitpicking they do about fare evasion, when they are part of the problem to begin with, is an embarrassment.

To add insult to injury, they sell fines that are unpaid for a year to collection agencies, subjecting citizens who are already struggling to harassment and degradation.

ICBC and Translink should count their many, many millions of blessings and leave those four per cent of fare-evading riders alone.

DROP-IN

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community

Editor DEVON MACKENZIE

The DAILY Voice, Thursday, April 5, 2012

7

Local bike thieves fooled A Vancouver-based group has taken ‘Bait Bikes’ enabled with GPS tracking units to the streets to help thwart would-be thieves

By DANA BOWEN

T

hink of it as the television show, “Cops,” but on bicycle.

With bike theft a growing issue in Vancouver, the online show, To Catch a Bike Thief, will be launching its pilot episode tonight (Thursday).

The Vancouver-based show tracks down bike thieves by using a GPS tracking device on bait bikes.

Once the bike’s lock is cut, the GPS device vibrates and sets off a signal to a mapping server that locates the bike’s whereabouts every 10 seconds.

The hosts of the show then jump on their own bikes in hopes of tracking down the thief.

“I want to create an entertaining expose about the world of bike theft,” said the show’s producer, Ingo Lou. “I am hoping … to help develop better ways to really make a difference in the fight against bike theft.”

He said with the combination of great year-round biking conditions in Vancouver and drug addiction a big issue on the streets; it creates the perfect environment for bike theft.

The trailer for the upcoming show states that every 30 seconds a bike is stolen and less than half of them are even reported.

Many bicyclists agree that bike theft is a big problem in Vancouver.

“I think I’m lucky to not have had my bike ever stolen, because it is such a big deal in Vancouver,” said a Langara arts and science student Tianna Grey.

An average of 2,000 bikes were reported stolen in 2010, according to the Vancouver Police Department.

Lou said the purpose of the show is to raise awareness about bike theft, and help people find new ways to keep their bikes safe.

“This show reflects that we are just a group of cyclists concerned that there is not a lot that can be done about bike theft, but it’s a learning process of how to protect one’s bike,” Lou said.

The pilot episode of To Catch a Bike Thief will be airing at 7 p.m. Thursday night at The Hive on West Hastings.

CARA McKENNA photo

Sydney the border collie is a member of Pets and Friends. On Wednesday he paid a visit to UBC to help students deal with exam anxiety.

Canine cohort relieves stress

‘Stress Less for Exam Success’ day at UBC sees dogs help stop stress

By CARA McKENNA

P

etting dogs is an unconventional method UBC students are using to deal with exam-related stress, and it may be catching on with schools across Vancouver.

Wednesday, the non-profit organization, Pets and Friends, came to UBC as part of their “Stress Less for Exam Success” day, bringing a horde of canines along with them to visit with stressed students.

“This is definitely helping relieve my paper writing stress,” said student Lili Okuyama while petting an energetic Cockapoo named Jasmine. “Paper stress then exam stress.”

Daphne Parker, the assistant administrative coordinator for Pets and Friends, said she is excited about the

possibility of bringing the program to other schools.

“We were very excited when we were approached by UBC,” said Parker, adding that her favorite thing about her job is seeing people’s faces light up when they see the dogs. “It’s a very feel-good concept,” she said.

Many of the volunteers at Pets and Friends, who regularly bring their pets to elderly care facilities, hospitals and hospices as well, said they have seen the magic that visits with animals can bring to people’s lives.

“When [my dog Rigby] is doing a shift at hospice he beelines for the wheelchairs first,” said Beth Ledrew, a volunteer who mostly brings her dog to hospital visits due to the dog’s calm nature. “It’s almost like it’s instinct.”

Another volunteer, Cheryl McCutch-

en, said she likes Pets and Friends because it’s a way to bring her Pomeranian, Michi, to work with her.

“I [also] work at an extended care facility,” said McCutchen, adding that Michi is very sensitive to people’s emotions. “We had one resident who was dying and after visiting with him, [Michi] went back to my office and just needed to be alone and suck on his toy for a bit.”

Patty Hambler, the student development officer of the Wellness Department of UBC, says bringing a program like Pets and Friends in to help relieve student stress is a first for the university.

“A student here had the idea to bring [the program] here,” said Hambler.

“This is the first time we’ve had pets on campus.”

“

We were very excited when we were approached

by UBC. It’s a very feel good concept Daphne Parker Assistant Administrative Coordinator, Pets and Friends

Soho Road on the road to success after opening second food cart After opening his second cart, owner Sarb Mund hopes to keep his business growing on the streets

By ALEX SKERDZHEV

V

ALEX SKERDZHEV photo

Sarb Mund hands out one of his most popular items from his Soho Road food cart, a naan wrap. Mund was recently selected to add a second food cart downtown.

ancouverites now have access to an additional 12 permanent food carts around the city.

Picked by a panel of judges from among 59 applications, these new carts offer quick, fresh, cheap and easy ways to quell hunger and quench thirst.

One of the entrepreneurs picked was Sarb Mund, the owner of Soho Road Naan Kebab on the corner of Smithe and Howe, who has just opened a second location at Granville and Georgia Street.

“We had to send an application in, you have to write a business plan, you have to talk about where you’re going to be financially,” Mund said. “They’re looking for people that have some sort

of vending experience, which helped us because we have this cart up and running.”

Soho Road currently serves UK/Indian food, such as kebabs with chicken, beef or veggie salads. All items on the menu are less than $10.

Speaking from his cart, Mund said he has only been in the food business for six months, and was lucky enough to get exposure very early on.

“When it comes to business, there’s always an X-factor, you know? We totally hit that X-factor by having Canada’s Top Chef interview us for best food cart in Vancouver, and that really put us on the map,” he said.

“I think the cameraman had just parked near us, walked by… [and] said, ‘Oh, I didn’t even know you guys were here’. He called everybody up, they all came down and that was it. It was a total fluke.”

A former accountant from Punjab, India, and London, England, Mund said he decided to start this business simply

because no one else had.

“We had a good idea, I mean, there was nobody else doing it. We feel that we bring in the UK/Indian food. In the UK, everybody goes out for a kebab, but it doesn’t happen here,” he said.

Soho Road was featured on local news stations Tuesday, with Mund appearing a number of times, something he says has helped his business quite a bit.

“God, yeah [it helped], I mean, it’s sunny today, and we are so dependent on the weather. It’s getting sunny now, we got the press when we really needed it,” Mund said.

He added that, “if anyone thinks that we’re winning the lottery by getting one of these licences, they’re sorely mistaken. It’s a lot of hard work, but I have to say it’s the most fun I’ve ever had. We’re growing organically, there’s no branding, there’s nothing on the cart at all. We want to make sure our food speaks first, and we can put the rest in place as we see fit.”

sports

Editor PATRICK JOHNSTON

The DAILY Voice, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2012

8

Spring brings baseball fans hope Vancouver fans pin their allegiances to two seperate squads, but shouldn’t set their expectations too high

By QUINN MELL-COBB

CARISSA THORPE photos

Terminal City Rollergirls having been warming up for their season kick-off at UBC’s Osborne Gym

Rollin’ out for the new season Roller derby enthusiasts ready for season, raising funds for charity

By CARISSA THORPE Hard-hitting, body-slamming, roller derby action is back again for another season and this year things are kicking off for a good cause.

The Terminal City Rollergirls are opening up the roller derby league’s sixth season this Friday night.

Proceeds from VIP ticket sales for the season opener will go towards bursaries for The Cinderella Project. Two young women who are graduating from high school will receive funding to pursue post-secondary education while also participating in athletics.

The Cinderella Project is a Vancouver-based charity that encourages youths to complete their high school education in the face of financial hardship, with the ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of poverty.

Vancouver’s first female roller derby league, the Terminal City Rollergirls

was started in 2006 to showcase “strong, sassy and smart Vancouver women,” according to their website.

They also aim to provide entertainment and build both the team members’ character as well as their community.

Among the 60-plus women who make up the four teams in the playerowned league are nurses, teachers, construction workers, television producers and aspiring rock stars.

The teams will face off in two bouts on Friday at Kerrisdale Arena: the Riot Girls taking on The Bad Reputations, followed by the Faster Pussycats battling Public Frenemy.

The charity also makes prom a reality for 165 high school students by providing them with formalwear they otherwise couldn’t afford.

Donations of prom dresses, accessories and shoes for women and dress shirts, ties, belts, accessories and dress

shoes for men will be collected on site at the Rollergirls’ bout. The donated clothes will then be distributed at the Cinderella Project’s upcoming Boutique Day at the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel.

New toiletries, new makeup and Groupon deals for manicures and pedicures are also being accepted to help the teens prep for prom.

Tickets for tomorrow’s Terminal City Rollergirls opener are $15 (plus service charges) in advance or $20 at the door for adults and $10 for children over five (kids five and under are free).

Season tickets are also available for $75, giving ticket holders access to all six of this year’s major bouts, but are limited.

Doors open for Friday’s event starts at 5 pm and the action begins at 6 pm.

Advance tickets are available online through the league’s website at www.

TerminalCityRollergirls.com.

ROLLER Derby

Teams have five members each

Teams score points by having players attempt to lap opponents

Roller derby attracted 5 milllion spectators across the U.S. in 1940

In consideration for inclusion in the 2020 Olympics

Source: wikipedia.org

Playoffs ask bloggers to put their thinking caps on Bloggers add to the sports discussion by providing fans with a more personal approach and providing deeper analysis

By OMAR SHARIFF To keep up with all the latest hockey drama, more and more, fans turn to sports blogs to stay up to date with the action.

Fans are focused on which teams from the NHL’s Western and Eastern conferences are going to clinch the final spots for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs, starting on April 11.

For the upcoming playoffs, Wyatt Arndt, a Canucks blogger for The Province, believes that the Canucks have a chance of going all the way and winning the cup.

“I just feel that with the depth Vancouver has, and with the lessons they learned from last year, that the Canucks have as good a chance as any team to make it back to the Finals.”

Cam Charron, who blogs for The Province, the Score and Canucks Army, thinks that sports blogs are so popular because there are just so many different kinds of blogs to choose from.

“There are just so many directions you can take [a blog],” said Charron.

“You can have analytical blogs, humour blogs, mainstream criticism, or even fan rants.”

Arndt believes that bloggers play a big role in helping fuel fan interest in their local teams.

“In a market like Vancouver, where people seemingly can’t get enough hockey, you help maintain that ‘24/7 hockey’ mentality by providing more and more hockey content on top of the content traditional journalism provides,” he said.

Arndt said that people are attracted

to blogs because fans can identify better with the more personal approach to sports that bloggers provide.

“Many of us talk like you would talk with your own buddies, just hanging out and talking hockey,” said Arndt.

“Most bloggers are starved for attention and dying to carve out a market for themselves, so they will readily talk to any fans that want to talk hockey with them,” he said.

Charron devotes a lot of time to maintaining his blog to keep his readers entertained.

“Nobody is going to keep checking a blog for updates if they’re sparse, no matter how good the writing is,” said Charron. “It also needs to be fresh material.”

Both the division-leading Canucks and St. Louis Blues have confirmed their spot in the playoffs, but Los Angeles, the third-ranked team in the west, still has to contend with divisional rivals San Jose, Phoenix and Dallas to secure their own place in the playoffs.

With spring training and preseason play now complete, opening day for the 2012 Major League Baseball season has arrived, kicking off another actionpacked year.

Vancouver baseball fans generally find themselves split between our Pacific Northwest neighbours, the Seattle Mariners, and Canada’s lone remaining MLB entry, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Last season the Blue Jays had a middling season, winning exactly half their games.

The Mariners have had little success the last two seasons. Last year they won just 67 of their 162 games. The year before was worse: they won only 61.

For Blue Jays supporters, there is a sense of optimism heading into the new campaign.

The league’s offseason revamping of the playoff format, which added a wild card playoff spot in both the AL and NL, combined with the Jays’ reputation for always finding itself the bubble for a postseason berth, means this could be the year for the Bluebirds’ long-awaited breakthrough.

However, Craig Calcaterra, the lead blogger of NBCSports.com’s HardballTalk, isn’t convinced the Jays will be playing beyond September.

“It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but I think the Jays’ [pitching] rotation has too many question marks,” said Calcaterra.

“The Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Angels and Rangers are all too good.”

Regardless, the Blue Jays were impressive during spring training, posting a Grapefruit League-leading 24-7 record.

Alas, it’s something that Jays fans have seen in the past – a good start that eventually declines over the summer and finishes in frustrating fashion.

“For the Jays to transcend those old patterns, they need to get contributions from multiple players so they can weather any slumps from key guys like Jose Bautista and Ricky Romero,” Calcaterra said.

As for the Mariners, far less is expected from them compared to the Blue Jays.

Seattle’s roster isn’t nearly as talented as Toronto’s, although Calcaterra sees the possibility for some improvement.

“I think they are way better off then they were a year ago,” said Calcaterra.

“They just need to see what happens with a full season of Dustin Ackley, determine whether Chone Figgins and Ichiro [Suzuki] still have greatness, or something close to it, in the tank.”

Ackley, the second-overall selection of the 2009 MLB Draft, is someone who Calcaterra sees making a “pretty big” impact for the Mariners in the years to come.

As for looking way ahead to the season-ending World Series, perhaps unsurprisingly, Calcaterra does not foresee the Jays or Mariners challenging for the championship.

He’s predicting a big-money matchup of perennial contenders in October, with the New York Yankees defeating the Philadelphia Phillies.